Aww Nuts
by bethanime
Summary: SPOILERS FOR S16 OBAMA WINS Cartman force feeds Butters an almond. Butters can't tell if he's hallucinating or dead. As he floats through his numbness, he reminisces about his and Kenny's trip to Hawaii. He can almost see Kenny's smiling face now... Complete- Shorty short oneshot. Slight Bunny


Darkness. Numbness. It was all around him. He felt like he was floating in empty space. Was he asleep? He wasn't sure...

The last thing Butters remembered was Cartman coming into his room in the middle of the night. Butters had been a good boy, right? He had kept Cartman's secret. He even took the M&M like Cartman told him to do if the Jew started asking questions.

Gosh darn it, Butters had done his best. Kyle always asked too many questions. Cartman knew Kyle was onto him! But Butters never knew what to expect from Cartman. Maybe Cartman wanted to tell Butters about his plan... to see if Butters really would eat the almonds...

He shouldn't have underestimated Butters, no sirree. Butters would do anything for Cartman. That was probably his own downfall.

Butters shivered in the darkness. That was the only sense of feeling he had regained at this point. Butters curled deeper into himself. His knees pushed into his ribs; his head rested on his calves.

Yes. The last thing he remembered was Cartman coming into his room last night. Cartman had given Butters another M&M with almonds...

Butters had been hooked up to IVs that pumped epinephrine through his veins. The nurse said something about the adrenaline fighting his allergic reaction. Was the medicine not working? Was Butters really dying? Butters squeezed is legs closer to his body until he could feel a twinge of pain.

Feel... Butters raised one of his hands to his face and caressed his lips. Oooh, they were still all sticky and gooey. Aw nuts, everyone said you will no longer suffer when you die. Shouldn't that mean that all physical ailments are gone when you die? Only your soul goes to Heaven. Besides that, Butters didn't want to meet Jesus with such a swollen face. Maybe Jesus didn't want to see him with an ugly face either and sent him to limbo! Gee, it's like being grounded all over again.

He, Leopold 'Butters' Stotch, was dying. Or dead. Was the election worth dying over? Was Cartman worth dying for? Butters sure would miss the fellas. He would miss playing basketball on the court... Craig and Stan were a lot better than him. Butters was a great cheerleader though! He would miss playing music with Token and Cartman. He would miss being better than Kyle at dancing. He would miss eating lunch with Clyde and Jimmy...

He would miss Kenny. Kenny had really helped him a lot recently. Kenny, the poor kid in town, went with Butters to Hawaii. Just to help Butters find out about himself. About where he belonged. Okay, well even if Butters didn't find all of that, he sure was glad that Kenny came with him. It would have been real awkward to be in that romantic setting with only old people.

Romantic? Butters felt his puffed-out cheeks grow warm. Hawaii really is a romantic spot; there is no denying that. B-but! Kenny was there looking at girls in bikinis and stuff. It's not like Butters had time to spend with Kenny on the island...

Naw, Butters could feel that he was dyin'. What's the use in lyin'? Maybe he did have a tiny crush on Kenny. Maybe it was just appreciation and affection for going with him on an expensive trip. Just the two of them. Gee, it had never been just the two of them before.

Butters mind drifted to his time with Kenny in Hawaii while his body floated in the empty space around him. He could picture Kenny's smiling face inside of his orange hood. Most people couldn't tell when Kenny smiled. Butters always could. The corners of Kenny's eyes would crinkle ever so slightly... Butters could perfectly picture Kenny before him. Butters sighed and blinked slowly.

He stared at his Kenny illusion again. The illusion wasn't smiling like Butters had just imagined. The illusion looked worried... scared... relieved?

"Butters!" The Kenny illusion grabbed Butters' arm and shook. Butters must be highly delusional right now. What if this wasn't an illusion? What if an angel of death had taken on Kenny's image and was taking Butters to the underworld? Aw, hamburgers... his face still wasn't ready to meet Jesus'.

"Butters! Snap out of it!" Kenny shook Butters again.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Death. I-I don't think I'm ready to meet Jesus yet. Can you wait until I don't l-look like a dufus? My parents would be sore with me if I greeted Jesus looking like this." Butters unraveled himself out of the fetal position.

"The fuck? It's me. Kenny! We've got to get out of here, Butters. Now!" Kenny pulled Butters' arm again. Butters stretched his legs out. His feet touched something solid. Something that seemed to be the ground. Kenny grabbed Butters' hand and started dragging Butters behind him. Butters stumbled.

"K-Ken! What are you doing here?"  
"You kidding me? This is like my second home town. C'mon, move. We have a portal to catch."

Butters pumped his legs. They were sore and tingly, but he could feel them now. Giddiness coursed through Butters like blood. He could feel sensations again! He ran faster until he was the one leading Kenny. Yet, Butters had no idea where he was going.

"Uh..." Butters faltered slight;y. Uncertainty overcame him

"Keep going. Head for the light." Kenny yelled. Kenny ran shoulder-to-shoulder with Butters. Butters could see a small sparkle of light in the darkness. He and Kenny picked up speed. They were gaining on the light, Butters could tell; but the light seemed to be growing weaker.

"Dammit!" Kenny picked up Butters, and slung Butters' over his shoulder. Butters' butt faced the flicker; he couldn't tell how close they were to the so-called portal. However, he knew an instant later. Kenny hurled Butters into the empty space and leaped after him.

The absolute darkness faded away. The silence was no longer deafening. Butters could hear little mechanical beeps and water drips. He glanced around. He was sitting on the hospital bed again. The medical equipment surrounded him in the same pattern as before. It seemed as if nothing had changed. Except now there was a panting kid in an orange hoodie with him on the bed.

"You should be okay now." Kenny patted Butters' knee as he took a deep breath.

"W-would you mind telling me what just happened?" Everything was the same as it had been last night in the room. However, Butters could speak without reservations. As in his breathing was completely normal. He touched his face. The swelling was nonexistent.

"There is a lot to explain. Simply put, we died." Kenny stretched his arms and rotated his shoulder joints. Sunlight began to peak through the window. Butters watched as the rays kissed Kenny's cheeks.

"I-I can see how I died, but what about you? Were ya sick?" Butters scooted closer to Kenny. Kenny smiled. The smile didn't reach his eyes.

"No. I wasn't sick. I killed myself."

"Golly, Ken. Are you depressed or something?"

"Depressed? No. Let me tell you what happened... I came to your room last night to check on you. I don't trust the doctors here, to say the least. I saw Cartman walking down the hallway. I ducked into one of the nearby rooms. He didn't see me, but I figured Cartman was up to something. He was laughing maniacally like he does at times. After Cartman turned the corner, I rushed to your room. When I came in, all of the machines were going crazy. A knot was tied into your IV tube... the heart monitor wasn't showing a pulse... It didn't seem like you were breathing... I ran to find a doctor... a nurse somebody..." Kenny sniffled and took a deep breath. "I heard noises from one of the rooms. I opened it and found two nurses in there banging. They slammed the door in my face and kept going. I came back here... I knew you were dead. I knew I was the only one who could save you."

Butters mouth fell open. Kenny was trembling. Kenny never trembles... Before Butters knew what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around his friend.

"Gee, thanks, Ken. I sure am proud to have a friend like you." Butters and Kenny sat in silence for a few more seconds while Kenny regained his composure.

"I killed myself so I could go to where you were. You don't know that territory as well as I do. I've been to that dark, desolate place so many times... That was my first time to be with someone else in that place... I didn't know if I would find you in time. If we would have been there a few moments longer, we would have been reborn. As ourselves. Had to grow up all over again. Suck disgusting milk from our mothers' tits. It's really gross, Butters. I wouldn't want you to have to go through that. Instead of the whole growing up thing again, we were dropped back where we left off. As if we didn't die, but had drifted off to sleep," Kenny closed his eyes and relaxed. Butters gazed out the window; Kenny was still in his embrace.

"Have you... died before? Was that place limbo?" Butters dropped his eyes to the top of Kenny's head.

"That place is worse than Hell, but I don't know if it's limbo." Kenny remained silent for awhile before answering Butters' first question. "Yes... many times. No one ever remembers me dying... My friends think so little of my life."

Butters hugged Kenny closer to him. "I'll remember. If no one else can, then I will. I would be dead forever if it weren't for you."

Kenny smiled a true smile in return. He didn't respond with words for he was already on his way to a happy dream. Butters slipped into slumber shortly afterward.

The banging nurses came into the Butters' room three hours later to find the two little boys curled into each other and sleeping peacefully.


End file.
